Atelier AVO is a RIBA member architecture firm. We speak to founder André van Oudheusden’s about his extensive experience of working for the duration of 20 years with world leading architectural firms on large projects with high profile and award winning concepts.
Back in April 2010, after 20 years of successful architectural collaboration with world leading architectural firms such as HOK – Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum , KPF – Kohn Pedersen Fox and SOM – Skidmore Owing and Merril a new architectural practice was founded. Prior to the start of his architectural design studio he was lauded for the work on the World Trade Centre in the South of Amsterdam which won the 2003 RIBA award and was involved in various other award-winning projects such as the River City Prague in the Czech Republic and Arroyo del Santo TT3 in Madrid Spain, winning many MIPIN awards.
During the 20 years André has been leading project teams, in London and abroad, from the initiation phase up to delivering projects into the construction phase, to the highest standard. The typology of projects ranges from office buildings, headquarters, mixed-use, transportation, medical, residential, master planning and interior/space planning.
André van Oudheusden started his London-based international architectural practice, Atelier AVO in 2010. The work of the award winning practice is based on a solid ethos developed over the years to ensure a high level of design standards which can be maintained easily and to ensure that projects are delivered on time and budget. The practice has won the 2015 Architecture Award for Best High-Rise Building and has recently be nominated for 2016 Innovation & Excellence Awards for architecture by Corporate LiveWire and nominated for the 2016 Architecture Award by BUILD Magazine.
The central concern of that practice is excellence in design. The firm are committed to providing designs which are tailor made spaces for people which embrace and contribute to an uplifting surrounding. Atelier AVO is committed to providing the highest quality of architecture that interacts with its environment both in terms of its physical context and its sustainability. The practice is driven by a consistent philosophical approach influenced by project-specific conditions coming from the environment, the surrounding fabric and the individuals working as a team. The aim of this approach is to create specifically detailed buildings that are evolving to context and function. In order to achieve this we strongly believe that good communication is key to achieving the highest standard of quality in our buildings.
The company now has a growing international portfolio, working on various projects in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Several completed projects have focused on Dubai, namely three high-rise residential/hotel towers called ‘Mont Rose’ in the Jumeirah Village Circle, one high-rise residential mixed-use tower in the Jumeirah Village Circle and a low-rise mixed-use development Avenue 005, in the Jumeirah Village Circle.
In Uganda the practice’s previous experience with the Naguru and Nsambya master plan, both mixed-use developments, has developed an understanding that drives the current villa project in Entebbe.
The villa is a very exciting residential design near the capital city Kampala of Uganda, which we are preparing for planning. The concept for the design is to create a garden within the villa which becomes the green heart of the house, the centre of a natural environment, which will service the house in a sustainable fashion.
All spaces are directly connected to the inner garden and benefit from daylight and fresh air. The swimming pool located on the first floor creates a focal point, together with the waterfall running down from the pool to ground floor. The flow of water will help to reduce the temperature and condition the quality of air which is driven by the air stream from the rooms through the inner garden.
The hierarchy of the villa is divided into two parts, a front and a back part of the house, which segments space into private and semi-private areas. The floors bring an additional layering of differences to the sense of privacy created. A greater sense of privacy is increasingly experienced as one moves through more elevated levels of the villa.
The most private rooms are the bedrooms on the top floor. The bedrooms have been characterised by elevating the rooms from the rest of the floor with a different facade treatment than the rest. Each bedroom is naturally ventilated and captures the eye-catching scenery of Lake Victoria through a large window.
The unification of the villa is expressed by dressing a transparent fabric around the perimeter, providing privacy to the house and to create a visual unity to the villa as a whole.
The client is a London based developer called TRYGA, headed by Samuel Muwonge, Leonard Mukasa and Andrew Muwonge, a group of young and dynamic forward thinking individuals with a clear vision of establishing a long lasting impact in Uganda through the development of quality luxurious living spaces that have been conceptualized to bring a refreshing approach to the Ugandan property market.
With this in mind, the aim is to improve the standards and style in which properties are designed within Uganda as whole. The key to this is taking our time to strategically plan our key concepts and designs and always aim to work in close collaboration with highly skilled individuals who are passionate in bringing ideas and concepts to life.
During the design process ABSTRUCT consulting, headed by Adrian Boult, was appointed because of their innovative and talented structural engineering approach with considerable experience in all manner of projects and in particular those with an architectural bias. They have provided a direct hand-on and personal approach by carefully considering integration of structural engineering with architecture to create a building which is structurally simple and efficient which is one of the key principles of ABSTRUCT work.
Contact Details
Company: Atelier AVO
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.atelieravo.com
ABSTRUCT Consulting
Website: www.abstruct-consult.com
